Relaxation, Stress Management Have Short-Term Benefit for Hypertension

Short-term benefits seen in terms of reducing systolic and diastolic blood pressure for people with hypertension

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, April 11, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Relaxation and stress management techniques have short-term beneficial effects for people with hypertension, according to a systematic review and network meta-analysis published online April 7 in BMJ Medicine.

Katie E. Webster, B.M., B.Ch., D.Phil., from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, and colleagues conducted a systematic review and network meta-analysis to examine whether relaxation and stress management techniques are useful for reducing blood pressure in hypertension (blood pressure ≥140/90 mm Hg) and prehypertension (blood pressure ≥120/80 mm Hg). Data were included for 182 studies: 166 for hypertension and 16 for prehypertension.

The researchers found that most relaxation interventions seemed to have a beneficial effect on systolic and diastolic blood pressure at short-term follow-up (≤3 months) for individuals with hypertension. Moderate between-study heterogeneity was seen. Moderate reductions in systolic blood pressure were seen for breathing control, meditation, meditative movement, mindfulness, music, progressive muscle relaxation, psychotherapy, and multicomponent interventions compared with a passive comparator (mean differences, –6.65, –7.71, –9.58, –9.90, –6.61, –7.46, –9.83, and –6.78 mm Hg, respectively). There were also reductions in diastolic blood pressure. The effects on blood pressure seemed to lessen over time, although few studies conducted follow-up for more than three months. Limited data were available for prehypertension, with small effects on systolic blood pressure for short-term follow-up comparing the effects of relaxation therapies with a passive comparator (mean difference, –3.84 mm Hg for meditative movement and –0.53 mm Hg for a multicomponent intervention).

“The results of our study indicated that many relaxation interventions show promise for reducing blood pressure in the short term, but the longer-term effects are unclear,” the authors write.